visit: ncse.com

This week on Fossil Friday we have a pair of interestingly textured specimens.

What could they be? Animal, vegetable, or mineral? Okay, most certainly mineral at this point. But what were they originally? They date from the Devonian and were collected in a quarry in North Liberty, Iowa. First person to identify them wins bragging rights for the week!

Josh Rosenau and I have just returned from NCSE’s annual rafting trip down the Colorado River and through the spectacular geology and biology of Grand Canyon. Our two motorized boats were packed with an eclectic mix of scientists, teachers, NCSE members, and people who wanted the ultimate experience in Grand Canyon in the company of those who love science.

In “Whence Fact, Theory, and Path?” I was talking about what I described as “a familiar threefold distinction between evolution as fact, evolution as theory, and evolution as path.” It’s a current distinction, with its modern locus classicus T. Ryan Gregory’s “Evolution as Fact, Theory, and Path” (PDF), which appeared in the inaugural issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach in 2008. But it is also a venerable distinction, appearing as far back as the Scopes trial.